Those taking the CSM exam are expected to not only have attended a Certified ScrumMaster course, but also to have done some study on their own. We have compiled a list of suggested reading. The materials listed here will not only prepare you for the CSM exam but will also give you the background you need to better implement Scrum in your own organization.

We are not suggesting you memorize everything in these documents. We expect that these resources will give you the context you need to apply the concepts you were taught (or will be taught) in your Certified ScrumMaster course.

Suggested Reading

Countless books and resources exist that will be exceptionally helpful in furthering your knowledge of the agile principles, engineering practices, and approaches that will help you transform the world of work. This list includes only those resources we believe we can reasonably expect a new student of Scrum to be familiar with.

"The Scrum Papers" (compiled by Jeff Sutherland, one of the co-creators of Scrum) are a collection of papers relating to the practice of scrum that go from the basics through to advanced topics such as scaling Scrum.

"The Scrum Guide" (written by Ken Schwaber, one of the co-creators of Scrum). This downloadable PDF describes Scrum as Schwaber intended it to be implemented.

"Do Better Scrum" (written by Peter Hundermark, a CSC and CST in Africa and Brazil) provides a set of tips and insights into how to do Scrum well.

"The Scrum Primer" (written by Pete Deemer, Gabrielle Benefield, Craig Larman, and Bas Vodde) is an early description of Scrum written (in 2006) by a respected group of CST practitioners. It provides an in-depth introduction to the theory and practice of Scrum.

The Scrum topic pages (on CST Mike Cohn’s website) offer an overview of many of the Scrum basics.

The Scrum Alliance is constantly evaluating new sources of Scrum knowledge. If you have a resource you believe should be on this list, contact studentresources@scrumalliance.org. We'll be happy to consider your resource at our next review. Be advised, however, that this list is limited to the five to six resources we would expect a new student of Scrum to read.